ARTNETLAB, Society for Connecting Art and Science, is a form of civil society that has for many years successfully functioned in the intermedia production field. It has taken part at many intermedia festivals and shows at home and abroad, with expert's recognition. ARTNETLAB is an art research entity that has from the very beginning been sensitive to the necessity of bringing together scientific mind and art concepts. This concept is ARTNETLAB's constitutional element. Up to this year, postgraduate students at the Academy of Fine Arts - Video and New Media Studies and students from the Faculty of Computer and Information Science - Computer Vision Laboratory have formed ARTNETLAB.

"Friendly Fire", the show of ARTNETLAB's projects in the Forum Stadtpark gallery in Graz, Austria with Eva Ursprung as curator, was followed by a catalogue, a historical document of the group and some key projects. ARTNETLAB's projects were first showed at the 10th IFCA (International Festival of Computer Arts) with the collaboration of MKC Maribor. Under the wing of ARTNETLAB many important Slovenian intermedia artists have shown their works. They are Ziga Kariz, Tobias Putrih, Saso Vrabic, Damijan Racina, Darij Kreuh, Miha Strukelj, The Eclipse group, Dusan Bucar, Saso Sedlacek, Borut Batagelj, Nika Oblak, Primoz Novak, The Kitch Art Group, Vasja Lebaric, Martina Bastarda, Robert Cernelc, Ines Krasic and younger artists that today enter the world of intermedia installations. It is important mentioning that ArtNetlab show was the only Slovenian presence in Graz during the "Steirischer Herbst" and also the finale at the "Graz - European Capital of Culture 2003" in the exhibition grounds, Graz being one of the three high spots in the contemporary Austrian and European art network. It is also worth mentioning that the three ArtNetLabians Narvika Bovcon, Ales Vaupotic in Gasper Jemec cooperated in a project "Friedhof Laguna" at the this year's Venetian Biennale - VV2 Recycling the Future. The concept of restructuring of culture in the public interest, started by the Ministry of Culture, showed the need for an organised society to take the initiative and responsibility for important projects to be carried out with the collaboration of other institutions as is the case of the IFCA, Maribor. Its goal is stimulating the creativeness in the field of digital technologies and creating the grounds for a net connection between students from the three Art Academies in Ljubljana, students of the Faculty of Computer and Information Science and the open society of Youth Intermedia Centres. On top of this it continues the production of intermedia projects. Its aim is to be competitive and to build sub-thematic standards, comparable to those all over the world. ARTNETLAB is a linking, interdisciplinary and experimental unit. It makes it possible for the young intermedia artists to have a chance to create their own first projects, supported by the newest sophisticated technologies. It is the only way they can be competitive at national and international selected cyber art festivals.

mag. Dusan Bucar, president of ArtNetLab

ArtNetLab main website http://black.fri.uni-lj.si/